Sunday, June 19, 2011

Israel’s Polluted Skies

If you’ve ever compared the (lack of) clear air in Israel today with scenes in older photographs, you may not be surprised that one factor affecting Israel’s skies today is pollution arriving from other countries. From Haaretz:

Air pollution from North Africa and Europe containing toxic materials has reached Israel, according to a series of studies by the Hebrew University and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Tests show that toxic materials also get here on particles of desert dust.

[...]

Scientists have been studying air particles arriving in Israel for years, and it is known that pollution can move long distances. But only in recent years has a precise analysis been made of the pollution and its origins.

The meteorologic data indicates that for two thirds of the days of the year, air currents arrive from Western and Eastern Europe, and for more than one-fifth of the year, air currents arrive from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and North Africa.